I’m not sure I agree with this sentiment. We can learn a lot from history, including clothing. Like: no capes!
The Selfish Reason I Go to Events
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans,
Jen and I do a lot of events. There are three reasons for doing it.
The first is money; the more we sell, the better it is for us financially (although most of the profits go back into books).
The second is getting our books out to more people. We want to share these worlds with you.
The third reason is (this is the selfish one) it helps energize us and excite us to write more. The combination of good conversation, excitement, and knowing that people care, is better than any other motivation.
Thank you for the motivation!
Éric
Re-Read Used Books Grand Opening Party
Hello Readers,
Come see us at the Re-Read Used Books Grand Opening Party.
We will be there this Sunday (April 19th) 1pm to 4pm
Hope to see you there!
Éric
Shawna’s Google Search in Faymous
If Shawna had access to Google during Faymous, these might be some of her search terms.
Cover art by Pinkpiggy93
Rise of the Guardians – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2012 film Rise of the Guardians.
Story
A fun twist on the reluctant hero story with a better lineup than the Avengers. The story is fresh while still using standard superhero tropes. The worldbuilding is amazing.
Score: 1
Characters
Each of the characters had unique feel and character motivations. The actors did a great job, really throwing themselves into it. Even with a larger cast there was a lot of character development for all of them except Sandy.
Score: 1
Dialogue
Very quippy, funny, and isn’t afraid of being serious at the same time.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The animation has aged fairly well, there are some lighting issues and a few less smooth sections but it’s still very pretty.
The music is phenomenal and worth listening to if you ever need to get pumped up.
Score: 1
Fun
I saw this in theatres and loved it. This was the kids’ first time and they were glued to the screen. Everyone had a great time.
Score: 1
Overall
A classic animated film that has more heart and goes way harder than it needed to. The acting, writing, and music make this a family favourite and an all around fun movie.
Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*
*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.
Hockey Stick Make-over
Have you seen the McDonald’s hockey sticks? They’re super cute, but I’m not a fan of hockey IRL, so I decided to give mine a little revamp!
Just print out the PDF on sticker paper, cut it out, and stick it to your box. If you REALLY want to get fancy, you can paint the sticks to match the player’s. Note that Shane’s stick has his mom’s name at the top!
Update: McDonald’s Canada on Instagram commented “hi yes so this is everything” and now my year is complete.
I’m not overly thrilled about the colour of yellow on Ilya’s stick, but highlighter didn’t work and I didn’t have a brighter nail polish. I used black, white, and yellow nail polish to redesign the sticks, and black fine sharpie to write Yuna’s name. The font for the character’s last name is grabbed from the jerseys up in the Heated Rivalry gift shop, as are the numbers. The logos for the teams are from the enamel pins in the same place. The MLH logo is from the video game (with Ilya’s “face on the cover of the fu€king game”). I removed the backgrounds in Photopea. The pictures are screen grabs. The signature is a font that I felt embodied the character, and I made the decision of how they would sign their names. Everything was dropped into Canva, and then I downloaded images that I made into a PDF to keep the size right.
No AI was used at any point of the process.
Note that I used nail polish for my painting because I don’t have paint and it didn’t occur to me to ask my sister if she had the colours I needed.
A Study in Aether Re-Release Cover
Hello Readers!
Earlier this year, I regained the rights to the Elizabeth Investigates Series and the fine folks at River City Siren Press have agreed to re-publish them.
A Study in Aether will be coming out soon and we were lucky enough to get the amazing Pinkpiggy93 to do the new cover.
I’ll let you know when it’s available and I have to say I’m really excited about this cover.
What do you think?
Éric
Randal’s Google Search in Faymous
If Randal had access to Google during Faymous, these might be some of his search terms.
Cover art by Pinkpiggy93
Cold Storage – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2026 film Cold Storage.
Story
A combination between zombie and disaster movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It strikes the perfect balance between expected plot and surprise twists.
Score: 1
Characters
I like that for once it’s the guy who’s overly talkative and a little bit of a mess. The girl is grounded and clever while still being dangerously curious.
Liam Neeson was extremely entertaining as the elderly expert that no one listens to until it’s too late.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The dialogue was fast, quippy, and smart. It managed to move the plot forward and create character development even while being sarcastic and funny.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The movie was gory, gross, and over the top, but it was well shot and interesting. Despite the dark locations, it was always clear.
The music was a little underdone and didn’t add much.
Score: 0.5
Fun
I love smart and quippy movies and this was a great horror/end of the world movie. It was cheesy but oddly believable. I watched it on my own and enjoyed it a lot. I’ll probably watch it again.
Score: 1
Overall
A terrifying, funny, and fascinating film. Filled with quips, gore, and Liam Neeson being awesome. More than worth a watch for horror fans.
Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5